The Philippines and China have already signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) and the terms of reference (TOR) to jointly cooperate in exploiting the oil and gas in the West Philippines Sea. The missing element is the commercial agreement between China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) and Forum Energy on how they can partner to implement Service Contract 72 over Reed Bank, the site of the largest gas deposit of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea. Once that commercial agreement is signed, and then vetted by Philippine and Chinese officials, the formula for a peaceful settlement of the intractable South China Sea maritime dispute would have been found.

Carpio, A. T. (2020, November 5). South China Sea as zone of peace. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A8.